Why Think Before You Pour?
It’s easy to assume that the warm grease left in your pan or roasting dish after cooking would be ok to put down the sink, and that if you wash it down with hot soapy water it will be fine.
However, Fats, Oils and Greases (FOGs) may seem like liquid when poured down the sink, but they cool and harden as they travel along the pipes. FOGs should never be washed down the sink!
Wastewater blockages and our environment
When FOGs combine with wipes and other sanitary items that shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet, blockages can form in our homes, businesses, public sewer network and wastewater treatment plants. These blockages can even lead to overflows of sewage that can damage the environment. Thousands of blockages are cleared from the Irish public wastewater network every month.
An example of the blockages caused by pouring FOGs down the sink. The FOGs combing with non-biodegadeable items such as wet wipes to form a solid waste mass in our sewers.
What to do with your FOGs instead?
- Collect used cooking fats, oil and greases into a suitable, heatproof container and allow this to solidify before emptying into the bin.
- Wipe and scrape plates and saucepans before washing.
- Use a strainer in your kitchen sink, and empty into the bin.
Think Before You Flush
Think Before You Pour is part of the Think Before You Flush campaign, it brings the campaign from the bathroom to the kitchen. To learn more about the Think Before You Flush Campaign, head to our homepage below…
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Always scrape your plates clean before washing the dishes to avoid food causing blockages in our pipes leading to environment damaging overflows. #thinkb4upour @IrishWater
Fats, oils and greases should never be poured down the sink. Although they are liquid at room temperature, they will solidify in the colder pipes of the wastewater infrastructure causing destructive blockages like this one! #thinkb4upour @IrishWater
We had a great day at the @GreenSchoolsIre #WaterAmbassadorForum talking about the #ThinkB4UFlush campaign in #Newbridge today. Thanks to all the students involved. #TheFutureIsBright @IrishWater
